


Life has its way

by BoiJustLetMeBe



Series: Obikin atm [2]
Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Anakin Skywalker Loves Obi-Wan Kenobi, Author Anakin Skywalker, Gay!Obi-Wan, Human Disaster Anakin Skywalker, M/M, More tags to be added, Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, Slow Burn, Tea, Teacher Obi-Wan Kenobi, Temporarily Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:20:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22269298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoiJustLetMeBe/pseuds/BoiJustLetMeBe
Summary: After five years, he just happens to be walking down his street?…Anakin is baffled to learn that his old English teacher, Mr Kenobi, is his new neighbour; not to mention the fact that Anakin was utterly in love with the man and this reunion is bringing back memories and feelings.Is there hope for Anakin and Obi-Wan? Is this what one may call fate?modern ex-teacher neighbours au
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker
Series: Obikin atm [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1602718
Comments: 21
Kudos: 113





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Idk bro it just kinda happened after I read a prompt

After five years, he just happens to be walking down his street?

Anakin's eyes widened in amazement, was it really Mr. Kenobi? The hot English teacher who Anakin had masturbated to in the gym showers, had brought presents for at every type of holiday or celebration, had been pining over hopelessly for his entire time at Uni, then finally spilled out his entire heart to one afternoon after lesson as the rain plundered against the window making Anakin have to repeat himself several times so that he'd be heard then just to be hit with a 'Sorry, teacher-student relationships are absolutely forbidden. So I'll just forget you said anything, okay? Bye and good luck with your finals Anakin.' 

Life really couldn't be THIS cruel. Anakin felt an old kindred feeling reawaken inside him at the sight of his long lost love, his heart started beating way to fast and he felt his palms become sweaty causing the task of holding the shopping bag to becoming more and more of a challenge. 

A part of him was whispering 'it's fate, it's fate Anakin' as his amazement only increased when he saw Obi-Wan enter the apartment block he was staying in. Anakin hadn't been home for the past month as he'd been visiting his mother but there seemed to be some changes when he was gone. He briefly remembers his landlord telling him someone was moving in next door before he left. But surely it wasn't the one and only Obi-Wan Kenobi who had moved in.

Anakin felt petrified. Should he go in there and face him? Wait a bit? Simply turn and run?

No. He was a man now, not some flimsy lovesick Uni student who went mad every time his English teacher said his name. He would simply pretend to have forgotten, normally go to his apartment, unpack his shopping, make sure everything was still where it was supposed to be after a month of being away and if he happened to bump into Obi-Wan so be it. However, he was acting far to ninja-like when approaching his apartment for someone who didn't care, he carefully unlocked his door and entered. Once inside safely Anakin let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and started doing what he said he would, but it wasn't even five minutes of being back before he heard a knock at the door. His body completely froze. There was no guarantee it was Obi-Wan, but Anakin had always had the ability to detect that man’s presence. He painfully dragged himself towards the door as more gentle knocking came from it, he stood staring at the door handle, all he had to do was open it, his heart was beating in his ears as Anakin struggled to grasp his surroundings. His hand was going white from his tight grasp, then finally, he breathed in and twisted the handle and started pushing.

'Act natural'  
'Act natural'  
'Act natural'

But when Anakin finally opened the door and was faced with the love of his life, he completely forgot what 'act natural' even meant.

He awkwardly leaned against the door frame as the (absolutely gorgeous) man in front of him was seemingly questioning reality. "Anakin?" he exclaimed in disbelief.

"Hi-- Umm Hey... Hello, well good morning-- ah no wait-- afternoon. I--" Anakin closed his eyes and breathed in forcing himself to calm down, he opened his eyes and tried putting on his best smile, "Good afternoon Mr. Kenobi." 

'Stupid. That just sounded stupid.'

Anakin tried pushing the annoying voice out of his head and started putting all his attention into Obi-Wan. He watched as the man let out an airy chuckle and whisper something like 'never in my life' to himself. Finally Obi-Wan looked up at him and Anakin felt his breath hitch in his throat as he gazed into those mesmerizing blue-green eyes.

"Wow. Well, I heard you enter your apartment --the walls are pretty thin-- so I thought I would come and introduce myself however now there doesn't really seem any need to." Obi-Wan stated, "I moved in a few weeks ago and tried knocking at your door then but there was no reply and the landlord said you'd gone on holiday. But they never told me WHO exactly was living here, no name, simply said it was a charming young man... I never in a million years would've guessed it to be you." 

"Are you saying you don't think I'm a charming young man?" Anakin asked pretending to be offended when his tone was playful, he so used to this act by now it was like second nature. 

"Of course not. I've always thought of you as charming. After all, I've taught millions of students, yet I still remember your name." 

Anakin.exe has stopped working. That was not the answer he was expecting, he was so used to simply being dismissed just getting a response to his helpless attempt at flirting was a surprise. 

"However you're not my student anymore and I'm not your teacher, so we may introduce ourselves again as I'm sure you've changed a lot from the last time I've seen you."

Anakin snapped back into reality and remembered they were actually on Earth, at his door and he wasn't just imagining this whole scenario.

"Yes, I'm sure lots must have happened! Like what are you doing here? But please! Please come in Mr. Kenobi." 

"You can just call me Obi-Wan now Anakin no need for formalities, we aren't in that type of environment anymore," Obi-Wan laughed again and Anakin stood to the side as the slim copper-haired man entered his apartment, still not believing a thing.

They stood awkwardly inside as Anakin struggled to think straight, his mind nebulous due to the beauty looking at him expectantly. 'Tea' his mind shouted as the many memories of glancing at Mr. Kenobi's lips while he drank his tea while giving a lecture started flooding back.

"I'll show you to the couch then I'll put the kettle on." Anakin said already moving towards his living room, Obi-Wan followed him, "You remembered that I like my tea. I have it--" Anakin jumped in interrupting the man "Of course I remember! I also know that you take it without sugar and you like the milk to be added first but still quite strong..." He trailed off knowing he must sound absolutely ridiculous knowing all this when it had been five years, and likewise Obi-Wan seemed mildly surprised as he simply nodded and sat down. "Alright then-- I'll be back soon!" Anakin declared awkwardly as he escaped to the kitchen leaving behind a confused Obi-Wan.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really quick update I wrote during my break, next ones should be longer ://

Deep in his thoughts Anakin set everything up and watched as the kettle boiled, some steam already starting to appear, Anakin didn't particularly drink tea but always had some for in case-- Something like this occurred. 

He still couldn't believe what was happening. Mr Kenobi was in HIS living room, sitting on HIS couch. Anakin was pretty sure he was going to spend the night sleeping on the couch to try and soak up the remains of Obi-Wan's essence. 

A sudden urge to tell someone hit him and he grabbed his phone that had been resting on the countertop. Anakin scrolled through his contacts until he found one labelled 'Snips'.

Ahsoka is one of the few people he actually kept in contact with after Uni, she had been in the year below him and also took English, Anakin needed something to put on his CV so decided to tutor and fate put them together. 

He helped her with her work and in return she let him tell her all about his Mr Kenobi drama. Was it a fair deal, well...? 

"Okay Snips so you analyse this quote, what does it mean? Why that? Yes-- And look at this bit too... Ah! I almost forgot to tell you, we were doing this thing in class and Mr Kenobi came and leaned over my shoulder to look at my work, and he was literally SO close, I could smell him and feel his breath and after he finished reading he looked at me and smiled that breathtaking smile of his telling me my work was incredible! I swear I almost got a hard-on!"

Yeahhhh. Though she never seemed to mind that much, always giving him advice, telling him when it went a bit overboard and teasing him about it whenever Mr Kenobi was near.

"Skyguy don't look now but a short handsome copper-haired man just walked in", "OH WHERE? Where's he gone Snips?" ~~ "Mr Kenobi mentioned you in class, well I'm guessing it's you, he was talking about some guy in the year above us who was really good at this writing task we were doing." ~~ "I asked him if he'd ever date a student... He said definitely not one he was teaching because that would be unethical and wrong because of power imbalance or something-- I'm sorry Anakin." ~~ "I found out that he really likes this specific chocolate! That's definitely something you should consider for the upcoming Valentine's day."

So essentially she was a good wing woman and a great friend.

Besides, after all that they were still friends now so it was all calm. They met up every now and then, making sure they saw each other at least once a month for a coffee and a chat.

Anakin opened the chat and sent a quick message that went along the lines of [Oh my word you won't believe it but Mr Kenobi is my new neighbour and we're about to drink tea together!!!] he stood staring at his phone for a few moments before his eyes wandered to the time in the corner of his phone and Anakin felt a shock flow through him noticing he'd been away quite a while, so quickly finished the tea and headed back to the living room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I've realized some complications so I'm sorry if things go a bit pear-shaped  
> Again any comments and stuff are helpful


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oop haven't had a chance to properly edit this but oh well

When Anakin walked back in he saw that his old teacher had gotten up from his seat on the couch and was looking at some of the photos Anakin had kept and put on random surfaces. Obi-Wan was looking at one in particular and Anakin flushed red when he realized which one it was. He quickly placed the tea on the coffee table and rushed to the other man's side trying to stammer out a response.

This particular photo wasn't that bad, he did have a close-up photo of Obi-Wan's face that he had downloaded off the Uni's 'meet the teachers' page and once upon a time it had served the purpose of aiding Anakin when he was hot and bothered in bed late at night, however now it was in a drawer somewhere as more of a remembrance thing. 

This photo that Obi-Wan was currently looking at was taken when the English department had gone on a trip and they all stood together in front of some statue, but Anakin had made sure he was standing next to Mr Kenobi (well he was practically dangling over the man rather than simply standing next to him) when the photo was taken, Ahsoka had also been standing in front of Anakin in the photo making it even better for when he cropped it so it was just the three of them, seeing the picture always put a simile on his face but now it brought on a lot of panic, he didn't want to scare Obi-Wan away when the universe had just given him another chance. What would Mr Kenobi think to him practically having a photo of him, not to mention the fact that Anakin had decorated the picture with a few hearts and things. 

He was still stuttering when Obi-Wan chuckled, "I remember this trip, we accidentally left without Mr Windu because he was in the bathroom," Obi-Wan turned to Anakin who had already calmed down realizing Obi-Wan wasn't going to confront him and the panic was replaced with a smug grin, "You loved that, laughed so hard and threw a proper tantrum when we went back to get him... You guys just never seemed to get along." Anakin shrugged not really trusting his voice to be stable enough when Obi-Wan was talking about him so fondly. He watched Obi-Wan turn back to the photo and looked lost in thought, Anakin loved watching him think, he could see the memories coming back to Mr Kenobi as emotions passed across his face. Finally he smiled gently and pointed at Ahsoka standing proudly in the picture, "I remember her, she was an incredibly bright young girl and a pleasure to teach. You tutored her, didn't you? Her name also begins with an A..." Obi-Wan was back into his thoughts trying to remember. Anakin couldn't stop the possessive pride that flashed through him knowing that Mr Kenobi had remembered his name. 

"Ahsoka." Anakin offered helpfully trying not to let the warm feeling inside slip into his words. "That's it!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, "Yes, yes Ahsoka. Do you know what she's doing now?"

"I'm still friends with her. She lives around 30 minutes away from here, more towards the city. She's currently working for an editing company and is hoping to get promoted to the Head Editor sometime soon." 

Obi-Wan nodded as if he'd already known the information, they both gradually went to sit back down. Anakin handed Obi-Wan his cup of tea and watched the man take it in his hands and sip closing his eyes, "Perfect, this is a good cup of tea, thank you. I've been quite busy today so it's nice to finally sit down and relax." Anakin felt his face heat up slightly while he grabbed his own tea having forgotten how Obi-Wan's praise had always been one of the best things in the world. 

They sat in comfortable silence, just sipping their tea and enjoying the moment; but it wasn't long before Obi-Wan broke the silence, "So Anakin, what about you? I've walked around many bookshops but still haven't seen a book with your name on it," Anakin shrugged sheepishly continuing to sip his tea remembering how he'd always said he'd become the world's most famous author. It wasn't like he had given up on that dream it's just life, he had started with a book but never got time to properly work on it as he was hopping between different jobs. Anakin did feel a bit ashamed that he wasn't properly using his English degree and skills he'd learned from Mr Kenobi.

"You were always one of my most promising students, I've always had high hopes for you. I've had students that have told me about their dreams, and of course I would help them to the best of my ability, but some just aren't meant to be. You, however, have always had a natural talent. But then again you do everything in your own time; homework, tests, research and probably this as well, I do believe it will still happen." Obi-Wan gazed at him intensely and Anakin thought he'd melt, nodding again not really wanting to tell him what he'd been wasting his life on since he left Uni Anakin decided to change the subject, "What about you Mr K-- Obi-Wan? What's brought you here? I never would've imagined such a gorgeous, intelligent man like you ending up in a run-down apartment block like this." Anakin watched as his old teacher adverted his gaze to look out the large window, "A lot has happened," he murmured with a sigh. Anakin leaned in closer towards him showing he was ready for the story, Obi-Wan smiled lightly before inhaling sharply.

"Well, I'll start five years ago since that is when we parted... So, I continued teaching for about another year, you know to help Ahsoka's class finish the course, but during that time I met someone.", Anakin nodded rigidly, Snips had been keeping him up to date on Mr Kenobi during that year, he had even made her give Obi-Wan Valentine's chocolates that year from him since he didn't get to see Mr Kenobi himself. But now knowing he had met another man while Anakin was away... He had to stop his thoughts so he could actually focus on what Obi-Wan was saying and now he'd become even more intrigued, "He was handsome and tall and very caring, after I met him I thought that was it, that was my love life sorted. You see I'm getting older by the day and at that time I thought it was about time I start settling down. Anyway, we got very serious and due to circumstances he had to move back to his hometown, and well, naturally I followed, leaving my job and everything I'd ever known. It was scary but he was very supportive and grateful for my decision. And it was amazing in the first two years, home life, dates... The sex." Obi-Wan laughed at Anakin's displeased face and despite Anakin's best efforts he couldn't help but blush at the words leaving Obi-Wan's mouth. He didn't like where this story was going but wouldn't interrupt, "Anyway we were good, I even thought about proposing at one time... Even though considering our relationship dynamics he should be the one proposing, I've always been more of-- but anyway!" Obi-Wan caught himself as he started going off-topic, Anakin was displaying a lot of emotions in his eyes over his cup of tea and he decided to continue as the young man seemed he would burst if he didn't know how the story ended, "Things just started going wrong, like out of nowhere we started having problems. We fought a lot and slowly just started drifting away, I'm still not sure of the cause but it was hard times. The final push was so dramatic it could be out of a movie, there was screaming and rain and throwing and the saying of things that could never be taken back. I just packed my stuff and left. Returned home for a while..."

Anakin watched heartbroken at the glisten in the other man's eyes, his mind screaming 'If only he had chosen me he never would have gotten hurt, I would have looked after him... I still could!' Anakin willed himself to stop his train of thought and jumped slightly when Obi-Wan suddenly turned to him as during his tale he had started gazing out the window again, "But then a few months ago I had the strangest urge to look at jobs in this area. I'd passed through here once or twice so knew about it but I have no idea what possessed me when I actually moved here."

Anakin couldn't help but grin knowingly as he offered to make another cup of tea.

This definitely was fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thx for sticking, comments are welcome :))


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another really quick chapter that's a bit of a filler

Anakin learned that Obi-Wan had fancied a change so was currently teaching at the local primary school, "Young minds are so interesting, they work and see things in a very different way."

Anakin told Obi-Wan a bit about what he was doing making sure to mention he had ideas for a book. They further talked about other things like poems and movies as they seemed to have similar interests when it came to that, however Anakin tried really hard to keep them off the path of talking about when he was a student not knowing how he'd handle the now embarrassment of his younger self. He wasn't embarrassed about the actual being in love more the way he had handled it, but oh well he could now show Obi-Wan he had... Matured.

The room started growing darker and Anakin had to turn the light on, but still they enjoyed each other's company in a way they never would've been allowed before. Not having to worry about what they talked about and how long they talked, gaining new insight into each other. Anakin found Obi-Wan was even more interesting and amazing when he was allowed to just talk and not worry. He also found intense pleasure at having Obi-Wan all to himself and not having to share him with other students in the class, it opened a newfound desire and selfishness he'd always had but never acted upon, he was never allowed to be possessive of Obi-Wan even though he sometimes couldn't help it, as the whole growling at people who would interrupt their conversation in lessons would prove. None of that mattered though, it was only them in Anakin's cramp living room. 

It was only when Obi-Wan mentioned he had to be up early the next morning that Anakin realized how late they had been talking. With dread he watched as Obi-Wan placed his mug on the table and Anakin was forced to do the same, slowly leading them back to the door his feet felt heavy as he really didn't want Obi-Wan to leave. 

"We should do this again," Obi-Wan said as he walked through the door and fireworks spread throughout Anakin's body all sadness forgotten as he over eagerly agreed, waving him off and only closing the door and retreating back into his home once Obi-Wan had safely entered his own apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All comments are helpful so pls


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: more sensitive topic, mention of violence and homophobia

Anakin fell back against the door not being able to contain a grin from spreading across his face. 

He ran into the kitchen where he had abandoned his phone looking at the unread messages from Snips. She thought he was joking but then realized he wouldn't lie about something like this, leaving her to say [Well Skyguy guess you might have been right all those times and you two are destined to fall] he messaged back then judging by her quick reply she had been waiting and face-timed him. He answered the call and was met with a high-pitched squeal then was bombarded with all sorts of questions [how awkward did you make it? Has he changed much? How do you feel?] which he tried his best to answer. They chatted for ages until Ahsoka said she also had to rest however wanted Anakin to make sure he told her EVERYTHING that happened. Anakin agreed he would and said bye turning off his phone.

Suddenly a wave of tiredness washed over Anakin, he seemed to find that trying not to explode with rainbows when Obi-Wan was near had become a rather tiring task. He decided to have some food, maybe take a shower, then try and simply sleep on the events. If he was going to 'accidentally' bump into the man next door in the morning again he wanted to look handsome and well-rested. But that plan went down the drain as soon as he got in bed and his mind started racing. 

'Obi-Wan's probably asleep next door.' Anakin couldn't help thinking, but not really knowing what to do with the information he just lay there trying hard not to imagine how cute Obi-Wan would look all snuggled up in bed. 'Even cuter if he was snuggled up next to me' Anakin blushed at the thought. He had tried for years to get this man out of his head, now this is all it took for him to completely come undone again, all the efforts of forgetting went in vain. 

Anakin exhaled sharply turning to his side, the fact that he had always been so close yet so far to obtaining Obi-Wan's heart made him feel so angry at the world.

He still remembers the first time Obi-Wan was confirmed as a 'gay man' everybody thought he was but it had been something he wouldn't talk about so they never got any insight. 

Until one fateful day:

Anakin was having lunch when he had received a text from Ahsoka. [This picture is spreading like wildfire... Thought I'd send it to you before you found out in a more alarming way] then there was a picture of a (still incredibly handsome) drunk looking Mr Kenobi getting it on with another man, like properly GETTING IT ON. 

He stared at the picture his mouth dropped wide open in shock. Emotions flooded his body, relief, jealousy, hope, anger, amazement, confusion. He quickly texted her back asking where she got it from, [Saw it on someone's Story, apparently it was originally taken by a Senior guy who was visiting some remote out of town pub who just happened to catch it.]

Anakin bubbled in anger, how dare these people invade his privacy like that! It didn't get any better, walking down the hallways this picture and all the speculations around it seemed to be the only subject of interest. He felt like snapping the neck of every person who talked about it. On more than one occasion Ahsoka had to try and calm him down when they'd overhear girls whispering on how it was such a shame that he liked men. It finally reached the point where school intervened stating that anyone in possession of the photo would be in big trouble, Mr Kenobi even had to address the issue in class. Anakin still remembers walking in and taking his seat as Obi-Wan stood at the front of the class with his arms crossed, his heart was hammering in his chest the whole time he was speaking.

"Well I'm sure you're all aware but yes I am gay. I like men. Big surprise. I can't believe you guys are more interested in that than all the work you have to do. My sexuality has nothing to do with any of you. So please just focus on the lectures and passing your exams doing the best of your ability."

The class was quiet and some people even looked guilty, Mr Kenobi seemed to have that magical effect that made people not want to let him down. Even then Anakin knew what he said was addressed to everyone but he couldn't help thinking that not all of it was relevant to himself. 

It was silent so Mr Kenobi started the lesson but that was until a boy on the back row stood up and started walking out of the lecture, everyone turned to him, "Where do you think you're going Mister?" the guy had a lot of guts saying his next words "I don't want to be taught by a faggot." a chorus of gasps sounded around the room and Anakin can't quite recall what happened next but he does remember seeing fire and running after the guy, he beat him up making sure he never even looked in Obi-Wan's direction again as he didn't deserve it. He got suspended for two weeks but that didn't matter, Mr Kenobi appeared to be disappointed in him which was much worse, he didn't approve of Anakin losing his temper and being violent, though he couldn't just sit there, besides some people simply won't learn through words. 

As he lay, he wondered if Obi-Wan still remembered that event... He probably did. Him being outed as liking men was the hot topic for three months until the day Anakin beat up the guy and people got the hint. People probably spoke about the event while he was gone but once he returned it was never mentioned. Snips wasn't too happy with him either but he remembers her laughing and saying, "You could've at least waited until you were somewhere private!" but it only seemed like half a joke. The whole English department was very protective of Mr Kenobi.

The memory wasn't quite pleasant so he tried thinking of other things, like the first time he made Obi-Wan laugh, he had never heard a sound quite like it, it had filled him up with such warmth no amount of sunshine could compare, he had felt so achieved that nothing could knock him down smiling for three weeks straight. Or the time he had remembered Anakin's birthday, they were passing through the hall and it was a quick, "Ah Anakin! Happy birthday." but that was the best gift he got that year. Or all the times he'd wait after class so he could ask questions when it was just them two, Mr Kenobi got use it after a while expecting him to wait behind with a loud huff and "Yes Anakin? What's the question this time?", he'd spend ages thinking off questions to ask him, Ahsoka would sometimes help him too though he couldn't always use them, "Ask him if he's noticed your helpless pining" "Ha ha very funny Snips"

The happy memories flowed through him eventually lulling him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol wasn't the usual tone soz idk some things happened, wasn't necessarily how I planned it to go
> 
> No beta so may not be of best quality
> 
> Been busy recently, I have my main exams this year ://

**Author's Note:**

> It's trash I know also if anyone has suggestions I have no idea where this is going  
> help plss


End file.
